History of
Plymouth County, Iowa
Indianapolis, Ind.: B. F. Bowen, 1917
J
The Jeffers Family
Among the pioneer families of Plymouth
county, few have been more active in the work of developing the best interests
of the county, and particularly that part of the same comprised in Johnson
township, than has the Jeffers family, which has been prominently represented in
the western part of the county since the year 1870.
The late Isaac Jeffers, who died at his home in
Johnson township in 1898, was for thirteen years the trustee of that township
and for many years the director of the school in his district. He was born
in the state of New York on January 12, 1835, son of Alba and Phoebe Diana
Jeffers, natives of that same state, the former born in 1812 and the latter in
1814, who became early settlers of Plymouth county and here spent their last
days. Alba Jeffers was a farmer in his native state and also was a stone
mason. He took and active part in the public affairs of his home community
in New York and had held county offices. Determined to seek a home for
himself and family in the then new West he disposed of his interests in New York
state and moved with his family to Wisconsin, where he remained for several
years, at the end of which time he moved to eastern Iowa, remaining there until
1870, in which year he came to this county and entered a claim to a homestead
tract of eighty acres in section 4 of Johnson township and there established his
home remaining there until his retirement from the active labors of the farm in
1884 and removal to Akron, where his last days were spent. After his death
his widow returned to the old home place in Johnson township and there her death
occurred in 1899. They were the parents of seven children, Isaac, Gusta,
Mercy, Mary, Jane, Benjamin and Charles, all of whom are deceased save the
last-named, who is now living at Freeport, Illinois.
Isaac Jeffers, first-born of the seven children
of the pioneer couple above referred to, accompanied his parents when they came
to Plymouth county in 1870 and he homesteaded a tract of eighty acres adjoining
his father's homestead, in section 4 of Johnson township, moving the latter's
house so that it covered the line dividing the two homesteads and thus
served as a place of residence for proving up the two homestead claims.
The spring following his arrival here he married and he and his wife continued
to live in the homestead house, both families occupying it together, until about
1886, when he bought an additional tract of eighty acres, the north half of the
northwest quarter of section 4 in that same township and on that erected a good
frame house in which he established his home and where he spent the rest of his
life, his death occurring in 1898. In his youth Isaac Jeffers had learned
the trade of plasterer and mason and long after coming the this county followed
those trade in addition to his work as a farmer, in this capacity helping to
build many of the earlier buildings erected in this county and plastering
practically every school house between that point and Sioux City. For many
years he was school director in his home district and for thirteen years served
as trustee of Johnson township, in that capacity rendering a valuable
service in behalf of the growing community, so that at his death in 1898 there
was expressed a general feeling of loss in the neighborhood, for he had been a
useful citizen.
On April 29, 1872, the year after his arrival in
this county, Isaac Jeffers was united in marriage to Mrs. Katherine (Fuller)
Blanchard, who was born in Washington county, New York, in 1842, daughter of
Daniel and Mary (Racy) Fuller, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter
of Plattsburg, New York. Daniel Fuller was a carpenter and in 1852 came to
Iowa with his family and settled at Dubuque, where he worked at his trade until
the fall of 1854, when he moved to Delaware county, this state, and bought a
farm, which he began to improve. There he died two years later, in 1856,
at the age of fifty-seven years. His widow remained there until 1870, in
which year she disposed of her interests there and came to Plymouth county.
Here she homesteaded a tract of eighty acres in section 10 of Johnson township,
built a frame house and proceeded, with the aid of her sons, to develop the
same, and there lived until she moved to Le Mars to make her home with her son,
Frank Fuller, who was then sheriff of Plymouth county, and there she died in
1884, at the advanced age of eighty years. Daniel and Mary Fuller were the
parents of ten children, John, David, Wallace, Daniel, Orison, Frank, Rachel,
Mary, Katherine and Nancy. Both Frank Fuller and Wallace Fuller were
veterans of the Civil War and each homesteaded a tract of one hundred and sixty
acres upon coming to this county. Three other brothers of this family also
served as soldiers of the union army during the Civil War. Frank Fuller
was the first justice of peace of Johnson township and served as sheriff of
Plymouth county for one term.
Katherine Fuller was a young woman when she came
West with her parents and she was married after coming to Iowa to William
Blanchard, a bookkeeper, who later enlisted for service as a soldier in the
Union army during the Civil War and in that service lost an arm. He later
served for some time as recorder of Delaware county and in that county died.
To him and his wife two children were born, Mattie and Lillian, the later of
whom died when eleven years of age. Mattie Blanchard married Marshall Mann
and to that union six children were born, Lillian, William, Elmer, Albert,
Pearly and Mamie (deceased). When her mother came over to Plymouth county
in 1870, Mrs. Blanchard accompanied her and entered a claim to an eighty-acre
homestead in Johnson township, which she proved up, and it was while thus
engaged that she met and married her neighbor, Isaac Jeffers, in the spring of
1872. To that union five children were born, William, Newton
(deceased), Orison, Frank and Anna. William Jeffers, who is now engaged in
the work of the Holiness society at Sioux City, a Prominent factor in the
mission at that place, married Elvina Peterson and has one child, a son, William
I. Orison Jeffers is unmarried and continues to make his home with his
widowed mother in the old home in section 4 of Johnson township. In
partnership with his brother, Frank, he is engaged in farming two hundred acres
in that township, eighty acres of which the brothers rent, and in addition to
his general farming is largely engaged in the raising of live stock. Frank
Jeffers, who is living on another part of the home farm, to the east of the old
family residence occupied by Mrs. Jeffers and her son, Orison, and who is
engaged in partnership, with his brother in operating the place, married
Margaret Burwell and has four children, Lillian, Pearl, Lambert and Lucile.
Anna Jeffers married Ervin Boyer, a farmer, of Meade county, South Dakota and
has five children, Leslie, Ethel, Gladys Fay, Vera Fern and Mattie Evelyn.
W. A. Julian, editor and proprietor of the Record at
Merrill and postmaster of that village, may properly be regarded as the dean of
the newspaper fraternity in Plymouth county, for every other paper in the
county has changed ownership since he founded the Record in 1890, he
therefore being the oldest editor in the county in point of continuous
proprietorship.
Mr. Julian is a native of the neighboring state of
Wisconsin, but has been resident of Iowa since the days of his young
manhood, when he came to Iowa as a young school teacher and continued thus
engaged until he entered upon his newspaper career. He was born at
Hazel Green, Wisconsin, February 19, 1863, Son of Ralph and Mary (Curtis)
Julian, natives of England, the former born at Plymouth and the latter at
Lands End, who came to this country and settled in Wisconsin. There
Ralph Julian died on June 9, 1881. His widow survived him for more
than fifteen years, her death occurring on August 22, 1897. They were
the parents of five children, those besides the subject of this sketch
being as follow; James Julian, of Hazel Green, Wisconsin; R. Julian, of
Rock Rapids, Iowa; T. H. Julian, of Kingsley, Iowa, and Mrs. G. Eachen,
also of Kingsley.
Upon completing the course in the common schools, W. A.
Julian took a course in the Wisconsin State Normal School at Platteville
and was there-after for some years engaged in teaching, filling the
positions of superintendent of schools at Sibley, this state, at Remsen and
at Merrill. While thus engaged at the latter place Mr. Julian conceived the
rather bold design of starting a newspaper there. Such a design is
referred to as a "bold" one, for no one save a person of courage,
possessed of the proper confidence in his abilities would have entertained
such a design, Merrill at that time having but two hundred population
-- hardly an inviting field for the establishment of a newspaper. But
Mr. Julian had not only confidence in his abilities, but an equally
sustaining confidence that Merrill would shortly grow to real newspaper
size and on August 20, 1890, he launched on " the uncertain sea of
journalism" the Merrill Record, which was a success from the very
start and of which Mr. Merrill has ever since been the editor and
proprietor; as noted above, the oldest newspaper owner, in point of
continuous ownership, in Plymouth county, all the other papers in the
county having changed owners since the Record was founded. Mr. Julian is
a Democrat and has ever given his earnest attention to political affairs, his
long service in behalf of his party receiving a measure of reward when on
April 1, 19154, he received his commission as postmaster of Merrill, which
office he still occupies. During the period of his teaching service, Mr.
Julian was a member of the National Teachers' Association for some
time. He is a charter member of the Merrill lodge of the Knights of Pythias,
in which lodge he has held all the offices; has been a member of the Iowa
grand lodge of the Knights of Pythias since 1892 and has held minor offices
in the same. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church.
On December 5, 1894, W. A. Julian was united in marriage
to Olive M. Ward, who was born at Le Mars, daughter of O. F. Ward and wife,
and to this union one child has been born, a son, W. Ward Julian, born on
August 19, 1896.
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